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Part-time Office Holder Background

The Part-Time Office Holder (PTOH) Determination encompasses those office holders who are appointed to Commonwealth Government boards, councils and committees and who generally work on a part-time basis.

The Tribunal is required to determine remuneration for offices that meet the definition of 'public office' in s.3(4) of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973. All offices which are established by a Commonwealth law (statutory offices) and appointments made under a Commonwealth law are under the determinative jurisdiction of the Tribunal. Other appointments made by the Governor-General or by a Minister of State which are formally referred in writing by the Minister responsible for the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service, to the Tribunal's President, are also brought within the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

In setting remuneration for office holders, the Tribunal may take into consideration a range of information including but not limited to the workload and work value of the office, fees in the private sector, wage indices, other economic indices, rates set for other bodies, and the public interest and personal status involved in holding the office.

Offices not specified under the part-time office holder (PTOH) determination

The PTOH Determination contains rates for 'offices not specified'. The responsible Minister may use the rates to establish appropriate remuneration for those offices which are in the Tribunal's jurisdiction and for which no individual determination of fees has been made by the Tribunal. The PTOH determination sets three categories of daily fees from which the Minister may choose the most appropriate.

Full-time Commonwealth employees

In general, a full-time office holder does not receive remuneration in addition to that received for the full-time office when he or she undertakes any other Government board or committee work.

Where a person is employed full-time by the Commonwealth (or a business owned by the Commonwealth) or in the administration of a Territory and is appointed to a part-time office, the Act (section 7(11) prevents that employee from being paid for that part-time office (unless excluded from that provision), even though the Tribunal may have set fees for that office.

The office holder may, however, be entitled to receive travelling allowance in connection with the part-time office commitment.

Remuneration models

The Tribunal has four remuneration models for holders of part-time public office. These appear under separate schedules in the Part-time Office Holder determination.

Annual Fees

Annual fees may suit offices where the functions are continuous and the work load can be identified with some certainty over time.

Annual fees also enable the Tribunal to recognise the responsibilities of the office and any associated sensitivities and standing of the office holders, which do not necessarily correlate to the time commitment involved.

Annual fees particularly suit governance boards where office holders have a regular pattern of work/commitment and where the responsibilities and functions are well known (for example as set out in legislation or Statements of Requirement).

Daily Fees

Daily fees may suit offices where the workload is:

expected to be ad hoc and irregular;

predictable but relatively infrequent;

associated with case work and hence is variable dependent on that case load; or

highly variable between office holders.

Daily fees are also used where a new body has been established and it has been difficult to predict the likely workload and responsibilities on its commencement (generally the Tribunal would review these remuneration arrangements after twelve months to determine appropriate ongoing remuneration).

Base Annual Fee and Daily Meeting Fee

This model provides for an annual fee that recognises all authority business, including short meetings, committee work and all representational work. Like the annual fee model, it enables the Tribunal to consider whether the base fee should incorporate a component that recognises elements like the autonomy, responsibilities, availability and expertise of the office holder.

The daily meeting fee recompenses for any meetings of the body which exceed five hours duration (including official travel time).

This model may suit offices where:

the commitment is difficult to quantify; or

where there is a requirement for the office holder to be ready to respond frequently at short (and unpredictable) notice for short durations.

Annual Meeting Fee and Additional Daily Fee

This model provides for an annual meetingfee to cover all formal meetings, regardless of their duration, including all preparation and travel associated with those meetings. Like the previous model it enables the Tribunal to include in the annual fee a component that recognises other elements such as the autonomy, responsibilities and expertise of the office holder.

The model then provides for an additional daily fee for other authority business.

additional out-of-session work, such as workshops and field trips that are of an ad hoc nature or may not involve all office holders; and

variable workload between office holders.

Conditions

Official Travel

The general provisions for domestic and overseas travel by office holders are set out in the Official Travel by Office Holders Determination. The PTOH determination sets out which of the three travel Tiers is applicable to an office. The PTOH determination may also contain specific travel-related provisions for an office or a group of offices.

Travel within Australia - For each of the three travel Tiers, Schedule A of the Official Travel by Office Holders Determination sets out the travelling allowance rates payable for the various Australian cities and towns. There is no payment where the travel does not involve an overnight absence.

Overseas Travel - The Official Travel by Office Holders Determination also provides for overseas meals and incidentals rates to be paid in accordance with the rates published annually by the Australian Taxation Office in its taxation ruling dealing with reasonable travelling allowance amounts. The Taxation Determinations can be found on the ATO website for the relevant year.

Motor Vehicle Travel - Motor vehicle allowances are also contained in the Official Travel by Office Holders Determination.

Leave

The Tribunal has no power to determine leave provisions for part-time office holders.

Early Loss of Office

The Tribunal has not determined any early loss of office provisions for part-time office holders.

How to make a submission

Information on how to make a Submission to the Tribunal is available on this website.